Silver Dragon Chronicles – Episode 37
Watching Hong Yuhwa mutter in dissatisfaction, Jehwa picked up a dumpling and said.
“I’m annoyed by finding and dealing with them one by one too. It’d be easier to just smash everything related.”
Then, Sawollin and I Seolhye’s faces hardened stiffly.
“But if I do that, she’ll hate it.”
Jehwa said this while looking at Sawollin, who had a stiff expression, and at those words, Sawollin’s eyes went wide.
Hong Yuhwa was the same.
“She… hates it? Just for that?”
“Yeah.”
When Hong Yuhwa asked with an ambivalent gaze fixed on Sawollin, Jehwa nodded.
Hong Yuhwa furrowed her brow, then glared at Sawollin with a slightly frustrated face.
Whether she knew of Hong Yuhwa’s gaze or not, Sawollin looked at Jehwa with a moved expression.
‘Hmph!’
Watching Sawollin smile as she looked at Jehwa, Hong Yuhwa scoffed inwardly. She didn’t like Sawollin.
Hong Yuhwa was not someone who would simply leave something she disliked wandering in front of her.
She was a human girl whom Hong Yuhwa would have removed from her sight immediately under normal circumstances, but Hong Yuhwa couldn’t treat her recklessly.
It was because of Jehwa, who was right next to her.
The reason Hong Yuhwa hated Sawollin was also because she was close to Jehwa.
Hong Yuhwa liked Jehwa.
She had fallen for his strong power, his purity, and his strong will.
Of course, the other party had no interest in her whatsoever, but…….
Hong Yuhwa had a temperament of always possessing whatever she took a liking to.
If she could subdue him by force, she would have done so long ago, but his strength was unpredictable even to her.
If they fought now, they could battle on equal terms, but if he drew out even his hidden strength, she would definitely lose.
The man she could do nothing about liked another woman right before her eyes.
It wasn’t that he liked her as a member of the opposite sex, but the way he followed her around was like a younger brother following his older sister.
Even that sight was unpleasant to her.
Moreover, the woman he followed around liked him. Just as Hong Yuhwa liked him.
“Oh my, you were out early.”
Hong Yuhwa, who had been in a considerably foul mood, frowned the moment she saw a woman approaching.
‘Who is this woman now?’
“Hmm?”
Jehwa, who had been picking up and eating dumplings, looked at Dokgo Ryeong, who was speaking to him.
“Hello.”
“The young hero is still the same as ever.”
She had been curious about how Jehwa had changed all this time, since they hadn’t been able to have a proper conversation yesterday. Quite some time had passed since that day, after all.
But Jehwa was still pure.
Jehwa spoke with an innocent, untainted face toward Dokgo Ryeong, who giggled.
“Are you going to eat too?”
“Mm… shall I? May I join you?”
“Do as you like.”
As Dokgo Ryeong smiled and was about to sit down at Jehwa’s words…
*Screech!*
Suddenly, Hong Yuhwa slammed her fingers onto the dining table and began scratching it.
All eyes except Jehwa’s turned toward Hong Yuhwa. There, Hong Yuhwa was scratching the table with a sullen expression.
*Bam! Bam!*
She even struck the table with her fists.
Of course, there was only one person here who could stop her, none other than Jehwa.
Even Jehwa, who had ignored her at first, seemed to have gotten annoyed by the noise eventually and spoke in a low voice.
“You’re noisy.”
With those words, Hong Yuhwa’s disgruntled protest came to an end.
***
After finishing their meal, Jehwa’s group joined up with Dokgo Ryeong’s group and entered the Sichuan Tang Family.
“Are you going to flip it upside down like the Kunlun Sect this time too?”
“I wonder…….”
The four people who had entered the Sichuan Tang Family grounds began pondering with serious expressions.
“In what way has the Blood Cult extended its hand here?”
Then, Hong Yuhwa, who had been listening half-heartedly, asked with a puzzled expression, and at her question, Sawollin sighed and spoke.
“There aren’t as many spies as there were in the Kunlun Sect. But it seems the Blood Cult’s influence has reached the martial arts tournament being held by the Sichuan Tang Family.”
“Hmm…….”
Rubbing her chin at Sawollin’s words, Hong Yuhwa said indifferently.
“The Blood Cult intends to annihilate the Sichuan Tang Family.”
“What?”
“Huh?”
At Hong Yuhwa’s words, Sawollin and I Seolhye opened their eyes wide.
“How do you know that?”
Hong Yuhwa smirked at Sawollin, who was asking with a suspicious face.
“I don’t know much about the Central Plains’ martial arts world…… but this place is one of the strongest bastions of the Righteous faction, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“The Blood Cult tried to gradually bring the Kunlun Sect into its grasp. That’s because Qinghai Province, where the Kunlun Sect is located, is neutral. It’s a place where the forces of the Righteous, Evil, and Demonic are all entangled. So it was easy to extend their reach. But Sichuan is different. This place has the strongest power of the Righteous faction; even if they brought it into their grasp, they couldn’t hold onto it. Rather than that, it would be far better to annihilate it spectacularly and provoke the Righteous faction.”
The Blood Cult was already fully prepared to fight.
All that remained was to announce to the world that they possessed such power.
Although the Blood Cult’s name had been mentioned again at the Kunlun Sect, that alone was weak.
They had to topple one of the great pillars among the Righteous, Evil, and Demonic.
The Blood Cult had intended to make their prey either the Sichuan Tang Family or the Sageommun.
But in the Sageommun, those suspected of being from the Blood Cult within the sect had all been destroyed.
Therefore, the only prey remaining now was one: the Sichuan Tang Family.
“This tournament, a blood wind might blow.”
Watching Hong Yuhwa smile with a delighted expression, Sawollin and I Seolhye shuddered.
Thus, something was about to happen in Sichuan.
Chapter 9. The Boy Who Fears Not Death
The martial arts tournament hosted by the Sichuan Tang Family was one that any martial artist could participate in.
Hosted by the Sichuan Tang Family, one of the pillars of the Righteous faction, its scale was considerable.
Numerous young martial artists from the Righteous and unorthodox factions gathered.
Due to the current tyranny of the Blood Cult, the relationship between the Righteous and Evil factions was quite ambiguous, not to mention the demonic path.
Unlike the distant Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the Murim Alliance and the Saryeon Alliance were close, so there was much more exchange.
Therefore, although it was a tournament led by the Righteous faction, quite a few young martial artists from the unorthodox faction were also seen, while those from the demonic path were hardly visible.
No, there was only one young martial artist from the demonic path here.
“You’ve been working hard.”
“Haha! Not at all.”
Dang Bihan, the head of the Sichuan Tang Family, assumed a cupped-fist salute at the words of the great elder of the Wudang Sect, the Azure Extreme Daoist Cheong Deungun.
Cheong Deungun, one of the greatest elders in the current martial arts world, had been invited to this martial arts tournament as a representative of the Murim Alliance.
After stepping forward from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s envoy delegation some time ago, he had come here saying he wanted to see the young juniors who would lead the martial arts world.
Through simple verification of strength, sixty-four among those numerous young martial artists had been selected.
Two hundred fifty-six preliminary qualifiers had been chosen, and these sixty-four young martial artists had risen through competing against one another.
Until now, they had not been required to reveal where they were from, but from now on, they absolutely had to reveal their origins.
With Cheong Deungun, one of the greatest elders of the martial arts world, personally observing the matches, the young martial artists who had appeared in the preliminaries were nervous.
“Grandfather Cheong Deungun.”
Cheong Deungun, who had been smiling gently while watching the young martial artists, turned his head at the voice coming from behind.
“It’s you, Ryeong.”
Cheong Deungun smiled warmly as he saw Dokgo Ryeong approaching him.
“Those people have come out in this tournament.”
When Dokgo Ryeong spoke with sparkling eyes, Cheong Deungun tilted his head.
“Those people?”
“Well, you see…….”
Cheong Deungun made a puzzled expression at Dokgo Ryeong’s words, and Dokgo Ryeong, flustered, tried to speak again.
But she closed her mouth at the booming voice that rang out in that instant.
“I am Ha Jong, the young lord of the Bisword Gate! My opponent for this great battle, come up to the martial arts stage quickly!”
The young lord of a considerably prestigious sect shouted out spiritedly.
Since he was the first to fight, he could leave the greatest impression.
Moreover, he was putting on every air of magnificence imaginable, conscious of Dokgo Ryeong, the daughter of the Alliance Leader, who was in the spectator seats.
But his opponent…... It was bad. Too bad.
“You’re so loud my ears are going to fall off!”
With an irritated voice, a woman came up onto the martial arts stage.
People began to murmur at her beauty, which rivaled Dokgo Ryeong’s.
She was beautiful, but for someone to have participated in such a martial arts tournament and advanced to the main stage meant she possessed considerable skill.
There had never been a woman with such looks and such skill known in the martial arts world.
“That child is…….”
Cheong Deungun opened his eyes wide in surprise.
“Do you know her?”
Dang Bihan, who had also been making a puzzled expression, tilted his head and asked; Cheong Deungun smiled and answered.
“I don’t know her well, but I am acquainted with her.”
While they were exchanging such trivial talk in the spectator seats, Ha Jong, the young lord of the Bisword Gate, assumed a cupped-fist salute and spoke.
“You are a beautiful young lady. I never dreamed there would be someone in the martial arts world who possessed such beautiful looks as well as such skill. If it is not impolite, might you tell me your name?”
The woman shot a cold sneer at Ha Jong, who was putting on airs with flowery words to look as good as possible to her.
“Huh? My name? Well, I don’t want to reveal it, but I have no choice because of the tournament rules.”
The woman who had muttered like that broke into a grin and spoke.
“My name is Sawollin; in the place I was, they called me the Demon Flower.”
“Sa…... Wollin? Demon Flower?”
Ha Jong tilted his head at the somewhat unfamiliar words.
“That’s why those who are all style and no substance won’t do! How stupid.”
Sawollin made an annoyed expression at Ha Jong’s reaction and spoke.
“My affiliation is the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
“……!”
There weren’t many who had pierced through her identity upon hearing the names Sawollin and Demon Flower.
Therefore, many were shocked by Sawollin’s next words.
The match between Sawollin and Ha Jong, the young lord of the Bisword Gate, ended in an instant.
Naturally, victory went to Sawollin.
She was someone who got pushed around here and there because of Jehwa and Hong Yuhwa, but among her peers in the martial arts world, there were almost none who could defeat her.
Having achieved an easy victory without exchanging more than a few moves, Sawollin leisurely returned to where her group was.
“Heh heh heh! Astonishing, amazing! I never dreamed that child of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would come here.”